Optimization of Digital Lead Generation Channels : Case: a Startup Nordic company’s entry into the B2B market

The aim of the research was to find out how the Nordic startup company can optimize its multiple digital marketing channels in business-to-business (B2B) market in order to generate more leads and eventually to increase revenue. The objective of the research was to determine which digital marketing channel (social media marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), email marketing) is the most effective online tactic for lead generation in B2B. The final goal of this research was to enter the Nordic startup company into the social media world, to compare effectiveness of three digital marketing channels, and to formulate recommendations for overall medium to long-term digital marketing strategy. The literature review consists of theory on concepts of digital marketing and lead generation in B2B. The focus of the theoretical part was on three digital marketing channels: social media marketing, email marketing and SEO. The research strategy was an action research, where the researcher (the author) was involved in planning, developing, implementing and learning from a complete cycle of the action research process within the Nordic startup company. Google Analytics and Suite CRM system have been utilized for primary data collection through structured observations. The research revealed that email marketing was the best online tactic for lead generation in B2B. Within 2015-2016, email marketing generated 179 leads. Meanwhile, social media and SEO have not generated the actual leads. However, they had a significant effect on the improvements of the company’s digital marketing activities